The next morning, Sadie woke up to find Noah gone. Frowning, Sadie stretched and stood up. She shook out her backpack, which she had used as a pillow, and slung it on her back. Standing up, Sadie looked around.
"Noah?" She called. There was no reply. "Hm," She murmured, turning in a circle. The forest was quiet besides the occasional chirp of a bird. Sun shone through the trees, warming Sadie. She took a step towards the direction of the village when she heard a twig snap. She whirled around, but saw nothing. "Noah??" She called again, this time feeling nervous. "Noah-"
"AH!" Noah jumped out from behind a tree, waving his arms. Sadie shrieked and fell backwards, landing on the ground with an 'oomph'. She glared up at Noah, who stood grinning down at her.
"Why?" She asked in annoyance. Noah shrugged.
"It brought me joy," He said simply. He then pulled a few apples out from behind his back and tossed one to Sadie, who caught it just before it hit her in the face. Noah grinned again and took a bite out of his own. He brushed past Sadie as she stood up and headed towards the village. "Come on. We've already wasted our first day." He called. Sadie grumbled to herself but jogged after him, biting into her own apple. She fell into step beside Noah and the two walked together silently. After a moment, Noah spoke up. "Hey, remember that time you almost burnt down an entire village within like two minutes?" he asked. Sadie shoved him and walked faster. Noah followed, chuckling to himself.
The teens reached the village just as a horse-drawn carriage (not the one that had been engulfed in flames) pulled into the square. Surprisingly, the square was completely clean. Not even a shred of confetti was left. Disney.
A man stepped out of the carriage, clad in a colorful uniform with puffy sleeves. A crowd formed around him as he pulled out a scroll and read from it in a booming voice.
"Here ye, here ye!" He began. "The King is happy to announce a royal ball, in which the prince will choose his bride. In three days' time, the King has asked that every available maiden in the kingdom, whether she be noble or countryfolk, attend the ball." He announced, and went on to shout more instructions.
"Three days?! Constance said a week!" Sadie cried. Noah shrugged.
"Why shouldn't things be more difficult than they already are?" He muttered to himself.
Sadie shook her head. "No matter, we can do this. It'll be easy. Well, I shouldn't say that. But we have to do this. Then we can go home earlier."
"You should be a motivational speaker."
Ignoring him, Sadie placed her hands on her hips. "I think we should split up. We'll find the items we need faster." Noah shrugged, but nodded. "Okay, so I was thinking I should be in charge of the dress, since I know what it should look like. I was so close last night, but-." Sadie stopped, not wanting to discuss the events of the previous evening. Noah smirked and she ignored him. "Can you find the glass shoes?" She asked.
Noah frowned. "What do they look like?" He asked.
"Heels. Glass. That's about it." Sadie instructed.
Noah sighed but nodded. "Okay. Whatever gets me out of here faster."
"You know, it's going to be a lot harder the more you complain."
"Oh, so you're happy to be here? Sorry to ruin your fun." Noah snapped. Sadie frowned.
"All I was saying was that you should whine less. It'll make this whole thing more bearable. And no, I'm not any happier to be here than you are, and you know that." Sadie retorted.
Noah frowned. "Whatever."
Sadie placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you mad at me? It's not my fault we're here." Noah didn't say anything, and Sadie gaped at him. "You think this is my fault!" She cried.
Noah crossed his arms. "You are the one that met the witch. I just got sucked into this after she attacked you."
Sadie threw up her hands. "I didn't ask the witch to come take me here. I didn't devise some evil plan to ruin your life--I mean, seriously, get over yourself. Don't blame me for any of this because it is not my fault. I'm sorry that this is so hard for you, but maybe if you didn't have such a perfect life where you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, this wouldn't be such an inconvenience." Sadie snapped. She didn't know if any of this was true, but she was angry, and so she drew from Rex's earlier words about Noah's parents paying off teachers at school.
Noah glared at the girl. "Don't talk like you know me, or my life." He growled, and then stomped away.
Sadie crossed her arms. "Meet back by the fountain tonight!" She screeched, and he continued to stalk away. Fuming, Sadie shook her head, trying to get her mind back on the mission. "If I were a beautiful ball gown, where would I be hiding?" Sadie muttered to herself, and decided to try the dress shop in town.
***
It was getting dark outside by the time Sadie gave up. She had tried the dress shop, the tailor, and had even asked a few random people where she might find a beautiful dress. None matched up to what she knew the dress should look like. She didn't know what to do. The dress was a main point in the story. She had a feeling it was going to be just as important in this version as well. Frustrated, Sadie made her way to the fountain to wait for Noah.
"Great," Sadie muttered when it turned midnight and there was still no sign of the boy. Either he was still pissed at her and trying to make her anxious by not showing up, or something had happened to him. What, she had no idea. What could possibly have happened in this fairytale world? Feeling worried, Sadie decided to go look for him. However, when she stood up from the fountain she immediately sat back down, a wave of exhaustion washing over her. Her stomach growled in hunger and added to the headache that was now making her eyes hurt. Sadie bit her lip when she saw a nearby bench. Maybe she could nap for just a few minutes, and then she would search for him. Hurrying over to the inviting bench, she laid down quickly, her eyes shutting immediately.
***
Morning arrived sooner than Sadie had planned. She awoke to a rooster crowing (how cliché) and sat up with a jolt. Realizing how bright it was outside, Sadie swore under her breath. "Great." She muttered. She had not intended to sleep all night. She needed to find Noah, and then she needed to find that dress. The ball was in two days.
Before she did anything, Sadie found her way back into the forest. She searched the clearing and occasionally called for Noah, thinking he may have just returned to the woods for the night. Sadie wound her way through the woods, growing tired. Just as she was about to give up, she stumbled upon a river. Rushing over, Sadie bent down to scoop up some water to drink.
Sadie wasn't alone. "My, what beautiful hair that is." A voice said behind her, scaring the girl.
"Ack!" She screeched as she fell face first into the shallow water. She jumped out quickly, her shorts and t-shirt now entirely soaked. "Who are you?" Sadie demanded to the old man that stood before her.
"People call me Wiz." He said simply. Sadie frowned and began wringing out the ends of her shirt. "You do have beautiful hair." He said again, eyeing it. Sadie raised an eyebrow.
"...thanks. I've been growing it out." She said.
"So I see. My, would I love to have that hair for myself." The old man continued.
Sadie frowned, disturbed. "Well, you can't. ...it's...mine." She said slowly, and decided she needed to leave.
The man held up a finger and Sadie realized she could no longer move. "Hey!" She cried, struggling. She could not even lift her foot.
"Now now, don't be in such a rush. Surely there is something you want, something you wish for, that you would be willing to trade for your hair." The old man pressed, tapping his foot.
"What is this, Rapunzel? You can't have my hair!" She cried.
The old man released her. "Very well. I am a magical wizard, and I could have given you anything. But, alas-"
Suddenly, Sadie froze. "Wait. A wizard?" She asked skeptically.
Latching onto her interest, Wiz nodded his head quickly. "Yes, yes, and I could grant you anything."
"And all you want is...my hair?" Sadie asked, confused as to why. Wiz nodded again, bouncing up and down. "Can you...make a dress?" Sadie asked.
Wiz jumped up and down. "A dress! Of course! What kind? Day dress? Sunday dress?" he asked.
Sadie crossed her arms. "I need a ball gown. A very specific ball gown." She said firmly.
Wiz nodded quickly. He waved his arm around and suddenly a piece of paper and pencil appeared. "Show me, show me!" He cried. Sadie took the paper.
She found a hard rock and took a deep breath. She was no artist, but she knew what the dress needed to look like. She took her time, and soon had a dress drawn on the paper. Satisfied, she handed it over. "In blue, please. And, uh, I think it needs to sparkle."
Wiz glanced at the paper for less than a second before waving his hands around. Suddenly, before her eyes, a beautiful blue dress floated in the air, sparkling and shining just as she had imagined.
"It's perfect." She breathed.
"And now, the hair." Wiz said, lowering the dress to the ground, but still holding onto it.
"Right." Sadie said. This was the weirdest deal she had ever made. Wiz created a pair of scissors and handed it to her. Taking a deep breath and trying to use the water as a mirror, Sadie cut off her beautiful, long blonde hair. It fell to her shoulders now, and she gasped slightly. That had to be at least 10 inches.
"Yes, yes!" Wiz cried. He snatched the hair from her hands, dropped the dress, and was gone in a flash.
"Well," Sadie said, surprised. "At least he left the dress." She said, having been worried he might trick her. Dusting off her knees and suddenly feeling much lighter without her long hair, Sadie grabbed the dress and folded it carefully, putting it into her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. She made her way back into town.
She returned to the fountain, hopeful that Noah would be there now. She was sadly disappointed. She sat on the ledge in a huff and took the dress out of the backpack. She looked down at the beautiful material she held in her hands. It would be useless without the shoes. She looked up when she heard a pair of deep voices and saw two guards pass her by. Sadie looked back at the dress but her head snapped up when she heard one of the guards mutter the word 'glass slipper.'
Jumping up, Sadie followed behind them as discreetly as possible.
"-boy thought he could steal from my town." One of the guards was saying. Sadie had a sinking feeling.
"What's a man need with those heels, anyway? I don't have any tolerance for cross-dressers." The other man said gruffly.
Sadie groaned loudly, and the guards turned around and raised an eyebrow at how close behind them she was. Sadie's eyes widened. Not knowing what else to do, she quickly bowed and ran away.
"Great. Pretty boy gets caught. I shouldn't be surprised." She said, rolling her eyes. However, knowing she would get nowhere with him gone, she knew she needed to find him. She decided she would find the town jail. She assumed that like in her own world, when people got caught stealing, they went to jail.